NORTHEASTERN PULLS AWAY FROM JAMES MADISON IN FIRST-ROUND FINALE
RICHMOND, Va. (March 7, 2008) ? Sixth-seeded Northeastern had five players score in double figures as the Huskies defeated #11 James Madison in the final first round game of the 2008 Aeropostale CAA Men’s Basketball Championship at the Richmond Coliseum.
Sophomore guard Matt Janning paced Northeastern (14-16) with 13 points, while sophomore forward Manny Adako scored 12 and freshman Chaisson Allen added 11. The Huskies, who shot 52.2% from the floor and made 8-of-17 from 3-point range, also got 10 points apiece off the bench from sophomores Baptiste Bataille and Eugene Spates.
James Madison (13-17) got a team-high 15 points and six rebounds from senior forward Terrance Carter and sophomore guard Pierre Curtis contributed 12 points, four assists and three steals.
Northeastern led just 21-20 with 5:55 to go in the first half before closing the period on 17-5 run to take a 13-point lead into intermission. The Dukes battled back and rallied to within three at 49-46 on a layup by Curtis with 9:50 to play. But the Huskies got back-to-back three-pointers from Allen and Bataille to build the advantage back to nine and steadily pulled away after that.
Northeastern advances to the CAA quarterfinals for the third year in a row where it will face third-seeded George Mason on Saturday night at 8:30 p.m.